Kingdom Hearts: The Return of the Key
by Elvish-Elenai
Summary: Finished There are three girls, all with the power of the Key. The final battle has come, but it won't finish without a few sacrifices...
1. Friends

Phase 1: Log No. 1

A soft melody, played on a panpipe, sounded throughout the forest. A turquoise haired girl rested along the trees, in a small cottage in the direct middle of the greenery. She smiled as she listened to the wonderful music, and then got up. She walked over a small decorated chest. She sighed.

You see, I am this person who listened to this music. I am Elenai.

I suddenly heard a war cry from the trees, and the music stopped. My archrival, the mischievous – but evil – Ember. Both a master of the fire and darkness magics, she was a formidable foe. I knew she held a dark secret deep within her, but I didn't pry that deep into her.

She jumped down from the trees, a kick aiming for my head. I quickly dashed aside, and she landed on the wood of the balcony.

"You're so predictable, Ember," I said.

She scoffed and pulled out her sword. I pulled out my shining blade and stood at ready. She lunged, and as she sped toward me, I pulled up my sword in a block. The swords clanged in conflict, and we pulled back into our starting positions. This time it was me who delivered the offensive with a fierce slash toward her midsection. She jumped back, her eyes wide, but then her fiery resolve set in. To kill me once and for all.

She was actually the ruler of the forest, and made it clear that that was her title to all who lived within. When I approached it, she quickly met me, even though it wasn't on the friendliest of terms.

_"Why do you approach my forest?" she said, her iron eyes seeming to bore into my soul. "If you seek medicine for your little insect village, don't bother. I've turned away all of the healers of this land. Anyone who dares enter uninvited will suffer my wrath."_

_I stayed silent, trying to keep my will standing against this person. "Answer me, or I'll sic the bears on you!" she yelled._

_"Some ruler of the forest you are. The bears aren't even here," I countered. She scoffed – her famous scoff – and said, "Well, they're going to be here!"_

_On that day, she was wearing a pair of dark jeans with a black t-shirt on. The shirt had purple flames on on it, and her hair was the color of sand, with half of her frontal two bangs a orangish red. Her necklace, the most noticeable thing about her, was a purple amethyst surrounded by antiqued silver, on a black cord. But I've noticed as I've lived here, she always seems to wear the same thing._

_I was a direct contrast, I was wearing faded blue jeans with a white shirt with slightly draping sleeves. I wore a gold cross pendant with an opal embedded in the center. My hair was the color of light turquoise, due to the days I had been traveling in the sun. I had a navy blue bag slung over my shoulder, with some food, water, and other things from my past._

_Suddenly, the birds that had always been singing stopped, and the sky turned red. Black creatures – the Heartless, I presumed – started to attack the animals. Fires burned in the distance, cries sounded throughout my ears. The screams intensified, until it felt like my ears were bursting. _

_Again, suddenly, the girl I was standing before was yelling at me again, and the world turned back to normal. It was then I dove deep inside her, to find her intentions. She was evil, no doubt about that, and she knew about the Heartless. Then, when I started to dig deeper, I saw immense power, probably more than she even knew she had. If she knew about this power, she could heal the world, or kill it._

_"Okay, fine. I'll give you a simple quiz on common knowledge to see if you are worthy to live in this forest," she said sadly._

_"Heartless, Grim, daggers, and wyverns. Can I come now?" I said, knowing the answers from the start. The girl gaped at me, then jumped – well, almost flied – to the top of the trees. _

"You've bothered me for the last time!" she yelled, and charged at me, and went into an attacking frenzy. I tried to block against the attacks, but I couldn't defend against all of them. When she had finally calmed down, I was on my knees, close to unconsciousness. "Face it, you lost," she said, holding her sword to my throat. I narrowed my eyes, but knew that she had the right to kill me – common tournament rules.

"Stop!" yelled someone from the other side of my little cottage. Both me and Ember looked toward that way, and saw another person, a teen girl, really. She was wearing a light green blouse, and she had deep blue hair. She had a pair of jade green jeans on, and around her neck was a black cord with a silver lining with the ancient runes on it. She had a battle axe strapped to her back.. Her hand was up in the universal language for stop.

Ember walked away, and jumped up from tree to tree back to where she lived, and the girl that had just basically saved my life ran toward me. She helped me get up, and asked me, "You need any help?" I immediately rejected.

"I'm fine," I assured her. It would only be moments until my healing magic kicked in anyway.

"Are you sure?" she asked. Nervousness went across her green eyes more than once, more probably because she was in an unknown territory or Ember than me. "Who was that?"

"Oh, her?" The girl nodded. My magic finally started working its, well, magic, and I answered, "She's Ember the 'ruler' of this forest. You've probably proved that you are 'worthy' to live here, so she probably won't bother you much more," I said. "Fat chance, though. Never happened to me," I thought to myself. "Oh, by the way, I'm Elenai. Don't bother with your name, though. I already know it's Ana."

"What? How did you know-" she said.

"Telepathy," I said, pointing to my head. "Come with me. Looks like you need some food and water," I said.

We walked into my house, and I brought out some bread and butter. She chomped down on it furiously. "Take it you haven't eaten lately," I said, bringing out a cup and filling it with water.

"Nope. This is the only meal I've had in the last two days," Ana answered. I dug through some shelves and uncovered a potion and a few ethers.

"You use magic?" I asked.

"Yeah, sorta. I mean, I was a weather-witch where I came from, but here it may be common. I don't really know much about here. Before I forget, what are you doing here?" she said, gulping down the water in between gulps.

"Oh, me? I'm a... well..." I really did know what I was. A hermit. But I didn't want to have Ana, the only good person I had seen in days, to think I was weird. Common teenage thinking.

"It's okay if you don't feel like telling me," she consoled. "Another question: Did you ever hear of this 'Keyblade Master?'"

I tossed her a small book, with a picture of a crown on the cover. "Read this. Keep it. Know it. Someday, history might repeat itself, and we'll need to know all we can about the past." She hesitantly opened the book, and then scanned the pages. "I'm going to see if Ember's still here. I can't sense her anymore," I said, going out the door, leaving Ana to her reading.

I followed the trail of fire and darkness magic. I ran after the trail, not noticing the darkness that had been cast over the forest. Soon, I saw a shadowy flying between the trees, and followed closely. The figure landed and I could tell who it was – Ember. I dove into some bushes, cursing the prickly branches. Ember pulled out a black book with gold edging, and started turning the pages. "Yes!" she cried, and started chanting a spell.

-

Ana set down the book, captivated. "So that is what happened. Cool..." She sat down on the couch, and chewed on a fingernail. Her eyes saw the box that was sitting on a shelf, wrapped with a silk ribbon. She slowly walked toward it, and grabbed it quickly, looking around like a thief at market trying to steal an apple.

"I wonder what's in this box..." she said, entranced once again. She tried undoing the ribbon, but it wouldn't budge. She pulled back her finger, and it was frozen in a block of ice. "Grr..." She tried to rip off the top, but again, her hand came away frozen. Ana poured one of the potions that were sitting on the top of the coffee table on her hand, and it thawed. This time, she sent a small tornado toward the box, and it ripped it open. "I wonder why I didn't try that in the first place!" she exclaimed, and went to examine the remains of the box.

There was only a note. It read, "I promise..." This phrase made Ana's eyes go wide, and she read it again. As the phrase went through her head a third time, the words disappeared. This alone made her nearly drop the note, but what appeared on the note next did. "You Promised..."

-

As Ember chanted, a bronze-colored pot appeared in front of her, filled with a bubbling liquid. She stopped chanting, and read the book some more. "Okay, I need to ice the pot." She smiled, the reality not having sinking in. "Wait..." she said, then growled. She quickly spun around and yelled, "Elenai! I know you're there! You're always following me!"

"I guess I'm the one getting predictable," I commented, and came out from my hiding spot. Her eyes narrowed.

"Freeze it," she commanded, pointing at the pot. The liquid turned black.

"No way. I know what you're doing."

She turned, and walked away, fading into the forest landscape. I suspected she had used a invisible spell, so I attempted the same spell. But before I could chant the incantation, Ember appeared in front of me and knocked me down. "You made a huge mistake," she said.

She put her hand on my neck, and tried to drain my magic. I sent up a Nul-magic shield to stop her. She furrowed her brow, as if in great thinking, and broke the shield.

"I know your weakness," she stated as he immobilized me with her magic. Suddenly, the magic that had always traveled thought my veins slowed, then completely stopped, and disappeared from my senses. I breathed heavily as she smirked triumphantly. "It's your curse, isn't it?" Ember asked. My energy left me, and my eyes drooped. "Your powers are now mi..n...e..." Her words faded as my world went blank.

-

"Oh, I'm so glad you're okay!" exclaimed Ana as I sat up in a bed – my bed, realized – groggily. "I had to use a few potions to heal you. I hope that's okay. Don't you have magic or that sort of thing to heal you? When I found you, you were in pretty bad shape."

"Thanks." I got up, but the world spun around me, forcing me to sit back down.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked, concerned.

"It's just a simple case of dizziness. I'll be—" The door suddenly slammed open. It was Ember – again.

"I leave just to freeze that stupid pot so I can kill you, and you disappear off to who-knows-where! This is the last time you escape the wrath of Ember!" She held her hand to the side, and a giant key appeared. Not just any giant key, though. This was a Keyblade. It had a jet black shaft and grip, with a amethyst purple handle. The end of the key was sharp, and even though it was light outside, it was darker than night.

I tried to get up again, but was forced back by my dizziness. Ember smiled at the opportunity and charged at me, a smile on her face. Ana tried to help me, but was held back by an invisible shield Ember had put up. Ember raised her Keyblade, ready to deal the deadly finishing blow to me. The world seemed to go in slow motion, and as the blade headed toward my head, I raised my hand as if trying to protect myself...

A Keyblade appeared in my hand.


	2. Magic

Phase 1: Log No. 2

Ember recoiled, a snarl on her face, turned around and disappeared into the forest. The last look she gave me, of pure hatred, didn't shock me, but still, it hurt. Meanwhile, Ana was mumbling to herself about "There is only one key!" and "But why...?"

"Ember's leaving," I said.

"I know that. She seems to always leave when she knows she's outnumbered. It's probably no surprise to you that she's going away," said Ana, still distracted by her argument with herself.

"Yeah, I guess...," I said worriedly.

This finally caught Ana's attention. "Why do I have a feeling that you're worried about something?" she asked.

"I know that something bad is going to happen," I said, getting up. Pain rushed up toward my brain. My sight went black as I was struck by a premonition.

_A young girl stood by a cliff overlooking the ocean. It was dusk, and the sun was almost beneath the clouds. Her dress blew along the light breeze, as did her burning red hair. Elenai – or me, really. But I was watching – looked behind her, and there was disaster. Bodies laid strewn around the ground, and the remaining buildings of the village was burning._

_The girl turned toward Elenai and her lips moved, but no sound came out. She stepped back, and fell off the edge of the cliff. A flash of bright light._

_Blood. Lots of blood. Women scream and run away while a figure approaches. Men run inside their homes, making sure that their wives and children are inside before they lock the door. Another flash._

_A teen girl sits on a park bench. Her long hair hides her face as she sighs deeply. A ominous shadow slowly covers her, and – a flash, bigger than all the others._

"Come on, get up, Elenai!" yelled Ana in my ear. I stood up, rubbing my head.

"Is that... the future...?" I asked myself. I sensed another person nearby, a strange, unknown person. I looked over to my window, to see a shadowy figure bolt away from my house. I dismissed it as my imagination, and said to Ana, "How do you feel about camping?" A smile lit up her face, and I knew I had said the right thing.

We headed out, carrying days worth of supplies. I had a gummi ship hidden somewhere around the edge of the forest, but it was a two day hike there, and it being late afternoon, it would be impossible to reach there before midnight. We found a clearing a few miles from my cottage, and set up camp. I started a fire, and quickly started cooking some fish.

After we had eaten the fish, Ana curled up in her sleeping pad and went instantly asleep. I intently watched the flames until they died down, then went to sleep right were I was.

A scream woke us both up. Being the heroes that we liked to think we were, we dashed out of our sleep, leaving all of our things behind – save our weapons, of course. As we got closer to the source of the scream, a shadow heartless appeared in the ever-thickening forest. "It has begun," I whispered.

Finally, we reached a small clearing where Ember was lying motionless on the ground. I ran toward her, and took her pulse. "She's fine," I reassured Ana. Ana's eyes looked at me, cold and emotionless, almost like a Heartless. Her hands gripped her battle-axe tightly. She slowly walked toward Ember, and raised her axe.

Ember woke up, and seeing the axe that was raised above her head, disappeared. I closed my eyes and sighed. I heard a twig snap, and someone curse softly. I opened my eyes and saw the shadowy figure dash through the trees once again. "Hey, you!" I called after the figure, and they started running away from me. Ana was left behind wondering what had happened to Ember.

I slowly gained on the figure, ignoring the brambles and branches that scratched me. Just when I was about to catch him, he sent a large orb of darkness headed toward me, forcing me to stop to defend myself. He used this chance to take the lead. I looked his way, and where he was standing before I saw a crystal. I picked it up, and admired the glittering blue and gold particles dancing around inside. I stuffed it in my pocket, and headed toward where Ana was.

She wasn't there, so I went back to where we had set up camp. But the further I went into the forest, the more lost I seemed to get. I finally found myself at an old stone shrine, covered in ivy, with willows and oaks surrounding it. I walked through one of the half-collapsed stone arches, walking toward the center of the shrine. There was an altar in the center of the great shrine. I turned around, and saw six ruined statues – probably of saints or some other godly apparition – each holding a gem of these colors: jet black, sparkling gold, sapphire blue, lava red, magic purple, and forest green. I took the gem I had found out of my pocket, and stared at it. The blue and gold particles shimmered with such intensity that it made the surrounding area light up.

Some sort of force told me to go to the altar, so I did. Right in the middle of the altar was an imprint that fit my crystal perfectly. I pressed it in, and the crystal shone with a great light, so bright that I had to cover my eyes. A stream of magic went through me, and I knew I had my magic back.

Suddenly, someone clumsily came crashing though the shrubbery that was surrounding the shrine. I pulled out my sword, and Ana came into the shrine, tripping over some fallen stones. "There you are!" she exclaimed. "I've been looking all over for you!" I sighed. "Let's go!" smiled Ana.

We followed the trail that Ana had come by back to the campsite, and then went to where I had hid my gummi ship.

"Wait," said Ana. "I thought there were impassible walls between the worlds. Aren't these gummi ships useless?"

"The Heartless returned nine years ago, and with the return of the Heartless, the walls have evaporated," I explained.

"Then can we go to Traverse Town? I've heard so many things about it from books, how that's where the Keyblade master first started his journey, about the heroes there, and how the people whose worlds get destroyed go there..."

I stayed silent, but turned the navigational system to Traverse Town, and threw our camping supplies in the storage compartment. "...and they have this great café , I hear, and the first class hotel..." continued Ana as she went into the backseat of the ship. I flipped several switches, and we started hovering above the ground. Ana stopped her inconsistent babbling to shout, "Take off!"

As we went through space, I turned on our shields and a cloaking device. "The Heartless ships won't notice us that much now." Ana just ignored me and turned on the interworld radio to a random soundtrack station. I set the ship to auto-pilot, and leaned back in my chair. The song that was playing was one of my favorites, from long before my time.

_- I know I am true to myself_

_Though it cuts deep into my heart somehow..._

_Kindness is something I don't want or need_

_The sunshine would just dissolve me into light_

_Give me a pain as pleasing as your sighed_

_So I can feel you all the day and night_

_And keep me from fading away..._

_Kindness is -_

The words faded away as the announcer's voice boomed through the speakers. "Do you want a shiny new car? A bag of french fries? Superpowers? Whatever the case, come to Jack's Service Barn! There's nothing we don't have! Located in the scenic second district of Traverse Town! If you don't come, then you're a loser!"

"Hey, El – it's okay to call you El, right – we should visit there! I've always have needed to get myself a coat or jacket of some type. Those nights at your place are cold!" said Ana.

"I don't know. They didn't mention anything about clothing in general. And to be honest, I don't feel that good about going to Traverse Town, either. I just have a gut feeling that something bad's going to happen..."

Lyrics to "Pain" © Namco and Xenosaga: Ep. 1


	3. Past

Phase 2: Log No. 1

"Okay, there's Traverse Town. Entering orbit," said Elenai as she pushed several buttons, and our ship started rotating around the world of Traverse Town. We – Elenai and I, of course – teleported down to the ground level, where there was a huge grassy plain, with the town of Traverse Town smack dab in the middle of the fields. Unfortunately, we landed not within eyesight of the town. We had two choices: wander around aimlessly until we found the town, or flee back into ship and try to find another world. We started wandering.

"Hey, Ana, look," said Elenai, pointing to an anomaly in the tall grasses, where there was a gap in the grass. She walked over to it, but I drew back. "It's Ember, but she seems badly hurt..." A soft moan was heard in the direction of where Elenai was standing.

"Then let's put her out of her misery!" I shouted, and pulled out my axe.

"No," said Elenai, iron in her voice. She wasn't going to let me hurt Ember at all, no matter how much resistance I put up. I put my battle-axe back in its holder on my back, while Elenai put her hands on a deep gash in Ember's side. A bright light shone on her hands, and when it faded, the wound was gone.

"How'd ja do that?" I asked her with awe.

"It's just some healing magic. That's what light basically can be called. Healing," she explained, and Ember moaned again, then opened her eyes.

"What... just happened...?" she asked, looking around. She didn't even flinch at the sight of Elenai, but she backed away at seeing me. "You!"

"Why isn't she afraid of you?" I whispered to Elenai.

"Someone's come and took her magic and her memory. Her first memory right now is you trying to kill her back in the forest. She doesn't remember anything horrible about me, just you," Elenai said. Ember got up, and walked over to Elenai.

"Hi, I'm Ember. And you are...?" she said, holding her hand out for Elenai to shake.

Elenai shook it and said, "I'm Elenai. This is my acquaintance, Ana."

"She doesn't remember anything? Why don't you just kill her and be rid of your rival?" I asked. Ember gave me a look of complete hatred.

"Just play along," was all Elenai said to me. "Come with us, Ember. We're going to Traverse Town. Maybe you'll find out something there." Ember smiled and nodded. I gave Ember a suspicious glare while we walked along the fields until we found a wide dirt road.

"Pretty convenient," I said. We started walking down the road until we heard a soft rumbling in the distance. Elenai glanced backwards, but at seeing nothing, continued forward. The road that we were travelling on started to be overcome by grass and weeds, while the rumbling kept on getting louder. I turned around, and saw, "A truck!" We dashed to the sides of the road as the truck disappeared into the distance.

"He could've at least " started Ember.

"Something's not right here..." interrupted Elenai.

"You're telling me! We're travelling with whom seems to be your arch-enemy, Ember, we almost getting run over by trucks..." I would've continued, but a ran right into something. "Ouch," I said, rubbing my head. "Who's the idiot who decided to put a "

"Ana, there's nothing there," said Elenai.

I looked in front of me and saw... nothing. "You're right..."

Elenai turned around quickly. She whispered something, and the ground and sky shimmered, then disappeared altogether. A vacant town appeared, and I was standing right in front of a dented lamppost. "So that's what caused it..." I said.

"Welcome to Traverse Town," Elenai said.

"It's so quiet. I thought there were supposed to be people here..." I quietly stated. Suddenly, some dark creatures appeared from the ground.

"Heartless," said Elenai, and she pulled out her sword. Before I could even reach for my battle-axe, Elenai whispered, "Eternal Light," causing the Heartless to disappear in the flash of light that followed her spell. But the Heartless appeared once again, stronger, causing even Ember to fight. We fought, and finally defeated the horde of Heartless creatures.

After the run-in with the Heartless, Elenai walked over to a sign - one that was like the one you would find at a mall – and pointed out a certain square on the jumble of shapes. "There's the shop you wanted to go to, Ana," she said. I walked over and saw it was in the second district.

"Then let's go!" I exclaimed, excited about finally being able to buy something with the munny I had saved up.

"You know, it's changed here... a lot," Elenai said, her voice barely any more than a whisper.

"What was that?" I asked her, not knowing what she meant. She shrugged it off, and we headed toward the huge double doors marked clearly in runny white paint, "Second District."

"There it is!" I yelled, pointing crazily at the sign saying in bright neon lights, "Jac-s Se—vi-e Ba-n. Yeah, I admit, I was going a little wild, but I couldn't shake off the feeling of intense happiness. But just as we walked into the store, I changed my mind about the jacket because...

"Crap! More Heartless!" I said.

"These guys look pretty easy," said Elenai. I nodded, looking at the tiny ant-like shadows that patrolled the shop. One of them spotted us, and it's antennae twitched, seeming to send a message to the other Heartless. The shadows crept back into the natural shadows of the shop, and from the shadows came some huger shadows, with pointed heads with a little lightning-like strand of darkness coming off the top of their head, and with actual muscles. "They don't look that easy anymore..." Elenai muttered.

"You want some of this?" I yelled, taunting the shadows, and that made them advance quicker.

"Ana... I don't think you should taunt these guys. These Heartless, I recognize them. They're Neoshadows."

I froze.

_-Flashback-_

_Fires burning in the distance, smoke filling my nose, burning my lungs, making it hard to breathe. A Neoshadow runs toward me, it's claws sharp and ready to kill. A shadowed savior jumps in front of me, and fights the monster off. "Come on, Ana!" he yells, and pulls me toward the road._

_-End Flashback-_


	4. Family

Phase 2: Log No. 2

"Come on! Let's go!" yelled Elenai, half dragging me to an unmarked door. As Elenai left the shop, she grabbed a long black coat from a rack. I finally regained myself, and my balance, ran ahead of her, and dashed inside the door. We could hear savage growls from the other side of the door, and the Heartless scratched crazily at the door. "That was close..." said Elenai in relief. We turned around.

A garden was all that was covering the district. Various flowers bloomed around us, trees of every type climbed to the highest reaches of the ceiling, and jade-green ivy nimbly climbed the walls.

"Hey, Ana, since we aren't running from Heartless right now, can I ask you a question?" Elenai asked, seeming to ignore the bright greenery around us. She put on the coat that she had been holding and sat down on a park bench.

"Sure," I answered.

"Why do you hate Ember so much? You barely even know her, and yet you still want to kill her more than I," she asked.

"I"ll answer if you let me ask you a question." She nodded. "She reminds me of someone who I knew, but yet I don't know at all. She's so dark... Okay, my turn for a question: Why did you defend Ember back there?"

Elenai looked down. "I have a honor code about situations like that. I don't believe in hurting or killing someone when they are wounded in some sort. It kinda feels like cheating. And, talking 'bout Ember, where is she?"

"Why should I care? She could be eaten by the Heartless for all I care,"I said. Elenai stayed silent, and instead of answering she walked further into the greenery. "Hey! Wait up!" I yelled after her, and ran to catch up with her. I found her staring ahead at a small field of tiny blue, teal, and violet flowers.

_-Flashback-_

_"He's been taken by the darkness. There's nothing you can do now," says an old, man in a dusty white robe. _

_"Koiya..." I whisper, placing some of the blue and teal flowers on the altar. "You always said you liked these flowers, so I hope they reach you... wherever you are..." The priest – for that is what I assumed he was – lifts a candle, and lights the flowers. They disappear in a blue-green smoke. _

_"Sir!" yells a man, running into the chapel, breaking the silence. "The door...!"_

_"What? Not now! It can't happen!" says the priest worriedly._

_"What's happening, Father?" I ask. He turns toward me, sadness in his gray eyes. _

_"The door... It has opened."_

_-End Flashback-_

"Hey, wait... What was that?" I asked myself in a whisper, "It felt familiar, but I can't place the feeling."

"Hey, Ana, was that door there... the entire time?" asked Elenai.

"Without us noticing? No chance!" I replied.

We slowly advanced toward the door, but there was a strange shield in front of it. "Strange..." said Elenai.

"Why can't we get through!" I asked to no one in particular, trying to push myself through the barrier.

Suddenly, Ember appeared, sitting on a tree stump nearby, and muttered, "_Atrum Ostirin,_" causing the barrier to disperse. She disappeared right after I crashed onto the floor.

"Ow..." I said, getting up. "What the heck did she do?"

"She opened the door..."

"Then come on! Let's go!" I yelled, and pulled the door open. It was like we appeared in midair, and then we dropped into a huge square, with the walls covered with electrical lights and bright paint.

"The Third District..." said Elenai.

"Amazing" I was cut off by a huge rumbling in the ground, and giant pillars shot up from the concrete, closing off every exit we could see.

"'Bout time you got here. I've been waiting a long time for this," said a sarcastic voice from the shadows. I had heard this voice before, I thought. At the sound of the voice, Elenai reached for her sword.

"Wait, where's my swo" she started.

"There's no time for that!" I shouted, pulling out my axe. "Show yourself!" A mysterious person with a black ankle-length coat walked out. He had jet-black boots on, and a hood covered his face. A few strands of bluish looking hair hung in front of his face.

"Heh."

"You!" said Elenai coldly. Quickly she reached into her coat and pulled out a gun, pointing it at the man. The gun was shiny and black, and it looked brand-new.

"Who are you?" and all of a sudden, time stopped. Only me and the man were moving; Elenai was frozen. "What the heck did you do?"

"Little sister, don't you even recognize a simple time spell?"

"Little sister...? What do you mean?"

_-Flashback-_

_"Nah, Nah, nahnahnah. I have your dolly!" said a black-haired 5-year-old boy as he danced around a small crying 3-year-old girl, holding her doll by the hair._

_"Give it back, Koi!" whined the little girl. A middle-aged woman with a long dusty-blue dress covered with a white apron walked in. _

_"Koiya, give Ana back her doll," she said sternly._

_-End Flashback-_

"Koi... ya...?" Time once again started, and Elenai jumped up into the air.

"You idiot!" she yelled, and fired three bullets in succession.

"Vicis!" he yelled. Time stopped, the bullets Elenai had just fired seemed to float in midair, only a foot away from his head. "Little sister, don't you remember?"

I shook my head. "Not... really..."

He walked up to me. "Little sister..." He then did the most unexpected thing I could imagine. He hugged me. I dropped my axe in surprise, and he let go of me. He took his hood down.

_-Flashback-_

_Koiya and I were sitting at a table in a little cottage, with a checkerboard in front of us both. I concentrated, and a red piece moved. Koiya's blue piece then moved, jumping three of my pieces. "You always defeat me, Koiya!" I exclaimed. Suddenly, a horn sounded out. _

_"It can't be..." said Koiya, getting up. _

_"Wh—What's going on, Koi?" I asked._

_Koiya stayed silent, and grabbed my hand an pulled me out of the door. Fires burning in the distance, smoke filling my nose, burning my lungs, making it hard to breathe. A Neoshadow runs toward me, it's claws sharp and ready to kill. Koiya jumps in front of me, and fights the monster off. "Come on, Ana!" he yells, and pulls me toward the road. _

_"Where are we going?" I yelled. _

_"To a safe place. Hurry up," he answered._

_"What about Mom!" I asked, near tears. _

_"She's unimportant."_

_I froze in shock. Koiya had loved our mother far more than I had, it seemed. He turned around and took me by my shoulders. "Look, I need to keep the keys from falling into the wrong hands. You must understand."_

_"What are the keys?" I asked, but he didn't answer, only pulled me toward the town a few miles away._

_We finally reached the town, but the only thing left standing from the Heartless invasion was a church. As he carried me inside and shut the door, Neoshadows scratched at the windows. As he set me down on a pew, darkness – seemingly unaffected by the holy nature of the church – grew on a select spot on the floor, and a person rose up from it. He wore a jet black ankle-length coat, with a hood covering his face. He held his hand out to Koiya, and Koiya went into a trance, slowly walking toward the figure. When he was withing reach of the figure, the figure grabbed his hand and the darkness engulfed them both._

_-End Flashback-_

"Cunno," said Koiya, and a huge energy blast engulfed everything in dark.

_-Cunno Sorry-_

Elenai sat outside of a house in the second district, while some people talked inside. A shield kept the shadows from entering the area. Elenai sighed and her eyes flashed. "Not again. Please no..."


	5. Prophecy

Phase 3: Log No. 4

Elenai's POV

"You're such an idiot, Koiya! Coming here, trying to find your sister! I know you were trying to find her, but overlapping our missions is a severe violation of our protocol! You must leave... immediately," I shouted at this idiotic boy. Oh, man, was I lucky. Ana hadn't woken up from her shock, and if she heard the argument that Koiya and I were having... let's just say shock wouldn't be the only thing she'd worry about.

"Aw, come on El. She's my sis! I haven't seen her in something like ten years. Cut me some slack," he said softly, his bright blue eyes boring into me. I glared back.

"I don't let my feelings get in the way of my duty," I murmured, looking at the floor, and then looked back at him. "You shouldn't either. I want you out of this house, and out of our way. You'll see your sister soon enough. It's enough that you revealed her memories to her. Now it'll be much harder."

"Fine," he growled, and turned around. Koiya stepped on a creaky floorboard, and we both froze, hoping that neither one of the girls, Ana and Ember, would wake. I really don't know how Ember came to be there. Maybe Koiya took pity on her or something. But when it seemed like neither one of them had heard that creak, Ember's eye's fluttered, and opened. "Crap," Koiya whispered, and cast a teleporting spell, leaving me to deal with her. So much like him.

"Wha-- what happened?" she whimpered, and then her eyes shot back at me. "Elenai! What are you doing..." her voice cut off a bit. "Wait... no..." she moaned, and Ember clutched her head, as if in pain. I stood there dumbfounded, the fool that I am. A fiery wave of energy whipped through the room, making me go off balance. The world around us shimmered, like it always does when I disperse an illusion, and we were standing on a watery surface, but it wasn't water. It looked like water; small drips of the same substance caused ripples in the pool, but I was able to stand on it. Ember disappeared, a smirk on her face, and her eyes an unusual red. A shadowy figure approached me and Ana, who was still sleeping, even on the pool.

"Koiya, if this is another one of your tricks, it isn't that funny," I said aloud, my voice echoing through this cavern of darkness, but yet light illuminated from the pool.

"Elenai, my most promising student... I've been told by my... friend here, that you have completed your mission--" I cut him off.

"Sir, she isn't ready!" I protested. "If you --"

"Silence, Elenai!" he shouted. "Are you defying me? You know better than anyone else that defiance means death here." He pulled me up into the air with some sort of magic. "So, are you going to give me Ana or not?"

I waved my hand, and a cloud of light, his opposite element, surrounded him. "I saved the world once, and I can do it again." My keyblade, the Frozen Oath, a blue version of the original Keymaster's Oathkeeper, appeared in my hand, and I swung it towards him in a challenge. "The only weapon that works against you. I made a promise to fulfill my mission."

"But you've already completed my mission. You brought Ana to me," he said, glaring at me.

"That isn't the mission I'm talking about," I yelled at him. His eyes widened in shock.

"Then what is the mission, El?" asked Ana from behind me. I turned around, and taking this chance, the leader plunged his hand into my chest...

Phase 3: Log no. 5

Ana's POV

All I had done is wake up from the unconsciousness that my brother had imposed on me, and Elenai was already gone. That... man, he took her heart, her spirit out of her body. It pulsed weakly in his hand, a triumphant smile on his shadowed face. El's body slowly dissolved into sparkles, and the heart disappeared. What heartless it was made into, I have no idea.

"Such a waste," was all the man said, while he turned away.

I fingered my necklace in uncertainty. If he could do that to Elenai, he could definately do it to me. Should I run or should I try to avenge my friend's death? Just then, I felt a different shape on the chain. "A... key?" I asked myself silently. And then I felt another presence, and a voice drifted through my mind.

_Heh. Good job, you figured it out. You've always had the power of the key inside of you. The only question is now, can you use that power?_

"The power of the key?" The voice didn't answer.

"Ana, the true Key Master," the man turned back towards me. A shadow crept across the pool, unknown to the person. The shadow formed into a person, and they struck the man from behind. A flash of crimson , and then I knew. It was Ember.

"No one, not even the lord of Darkness himself, uses me." She smirked as the man faded away just as Elenai had. She looked at me. "I didn't do that for you, or any on your side. You'll have to deal with me eventually. And next time good and evil battle, it will be you and me who will settle this, not him and Elenai."

I stood in complete shock as the world reverted to normal, and I was back in Koiya's house. He came up to me and said, "Come on sis. Let's go home."

Epilouge

_"That is all I have seen. Seen through the eyes of two girls, both with the power of the Keyblade. But that is two hundred years from now, and we have our own worries, about the present Keymaster."_

_"But what about this Ember girl? Is she of any threat of us presently?"_

_"No. My sources have told me that that Ember girl is simply the Lord of Darkness' servant. If we have anyone to worry about, it is him."_

_"We don't have to worry about him right now. It _is_ two hundred years in the future, after all. For all we know, it could all be a fantasy, a dream..."_

The End

Final Notes from the Author: Well, this is the end. I may do a sequel to tie up loose ends, but only if I get around it. Well I hope you enjoyed.


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